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OU Student Stands Against Slavery

An Ohio University student is literally carrying out the age-old expression "stand for a cause" in Athens this week.

Emily Auwaerter, an OU junior, is voluntarily standing in the center of College Green with several of her friends for 24 hours to garner support for ending world slavery.

She began the "stand for freedom" at 5 a.m. Monday and will continue to stand until 5 a.m. Tuesday, asking people who walk by to sign a petition to end slavery and promote freedom across the globe.

Others across the country are also standing for the anti-slavery movement this month, an event promoted by the International Justice Mission. The human rights agency is encouraging people to "stand for freedom" for 27 hours, a figure symbolic of the 27 million people kept as slaves in the world today.

"It's not about race. It's about injustice and it's about people taking other people's freedoms for granted because of their situation in life," said Auwaerter. "I would like to see the [anti-slavery] movement grow, and I'd like to see our generation really take steps towards ending slavery in our generation."

When she's finished collecting names in Athens, Auwaerter said she will combine the list with signatures collected in other parts of the country, which will then be hand-delivered to the White House by an International Justice Mission representative.